Non-Chefs Named Gordon Ramsay Discuss Chef Gordon Ramsay

The only person more professionally obnoxious than Gordon Ramsay might be Amy Bouzaglo, the namesake co-owner of Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale, Arizona. The walking tornadoes collided last year on an episode of Kitchen Nightmares that provided such spectacular fireworks that Ramsay was scheduled to revisit Amy’s Baking Company this Friday for the season seven premiere. A brief summary: Amy and her husband Samy didn’t really gel with Ramsay, to put it mildly. A social media firestorm resulted, and the Bouzaglos continued to make things worse… and worse… and worse.

However, a Fox spokesperson confirmed today that the premiere has been pushed back to an undetermined date due to a “schedule change.” It might, we hear, be a little more than that. AZCentral.com recently caught up with Amy and her husband, Samy. Amy was tight-lipped, but direct: ”We can say that they have begun to realize that they have underestimated my husband and I, and our unwillingness to allow them to exploit us is becoming very clear,” she said. Samy was more blunt: “The biggest bully is Gordon Ramsay,” he said. “He is just a clown.” Like we said, fireworks.

Even though Amy and Samy appear to be a handful, it’s hardly any surprise that Ramsay was involved, too. Wherever he goes, drama follows. Earlier this month, he admitted to crying when his eponymous restaurant at the London hotel in Manhattan—which he keeps his name on but no longer runs—lost both of its Michelin stars. He recently, and unsuccessfully, tried to smuggle a bottle of Dom Pérignon through customs at the Doha International Airport in Qatar, even though he had to close his first restaurant there, Maze, because Qatar’s alcohol ban was hurting sales. Then there was the GoPro fiasco: Ramsay had his 13-year-old son secretly install a GoPro camera in his 15-year-old daughter’s room, so the chef could monitor her and her boyfriend behind closed doors.

And yet he remains insanely popular. He will do something as mundane as post a Facebook photo of himself cooking bacon and nearly 100,000 people will “like” it. Of those, 2,500 or so with presumably nothing better to do will feel compelled to comment on it, including oodles of women who frequently use words like “sexy” (to describe Ramsay) and “yummy” (also to describe Ramsay).

With as many fans as critics, it’s hard to find an unbiased and original opinion of the chef. So, to get a fresh and unique perspective, Bon Appétit decided to call the only men truly up for the job: every Gordon Ramsay we could get a hold of. As we wait for Amy’s Baking Company vs. Gordon Ramsay II, here’s how they feel about the chef with whom they share a name.

Gordon Ramsay, the retired banker from southern Florida: “His mercurial attitude and frenzied behavior are simply a mask for his lack of confidence in his own ability. I am delighted my behavior does not mimic his.”

Gordon Ramsay, the telecommunications worker from Ontario: “No, I’ve never had anyone give me a hard time because I have the same name as the curmudgeonly chef. I’ve eaten at his Savoy Grill in London, and the food was top-notch. I don’t watch his show, though. He’s on Fox, right? Other than football, I don’t watch Fox, as long as I can avoid it.”

Gordon Ramsay, the industrialist from North Carolina:Editor’s note: Mr. Ramsay was out walking the dog when we called, so we chatted with his wife instead. “My friend at church watches Jeff Gordon—I mean Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen [Nightmares]—and she called to ask if I had seen Gordon on television. I said no, and then I called my husband to see if he had been on TV. He told me that was Jeff Gordon—I mean Gordon Ramsay, the chef. I didn’t even know there was such a person.”

Gordon Ramsay, the high school English teacher from Arizona: “I once met him in London when he was filming a show on the street. He was very pleasant and personable. We talked about football—we both have football injuries. Later on, my wife and I were checking into a hotel and the hostess asked about my name. I told her I had met the chef Gordon Ramsay, and she said what a coincidence. I told her the real coincidence was that my wife’s maiden name was Jamie Oliver. I was pulling her leg, but she believed me.”

Gordon Ramsay, the aircraft salesman from Connecticut: “His TV show, MasterChef, contacted me to go on there to spoof him. I went through casting, but I had no interest in becoming a professional chef or being browbeaten. He is a spectacularly talented guy, and sometimes that comes across as being mean or overly demanding, but I think he’s just really that passionate. Whenever people hear my name and ask me, ‘Like Gordon Ramsay the chef?’ I say, ‘Yeah, but I’m nicer.’”